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Zac Gallen SP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen: Hurls six shutout, no-hit innings
Gallen (11-6) picked up the win over the Giants on Wednesday, allowing four walks and no hits over six shutout innings. He struck out eight.
Gallen cruised through the opening frame before issuing three walks in the second, though he was still able to escape without allowing any damage. The right-hander would then go 1-2-3 through each of the next three innings and struck out six of the final 10 batters he faced before being relieved by Kevin Ginkel to open the seventh -- despite the former not allowing any hits up to that point. Gallen has now hurled six shutout innings in two of his last three starts, though he also issued four walks in both of those standout performances. Furthermore, he's now walked multiple batters in six-consecutive outings.
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Louie Varland RP | TOR
Twins' Louie Varland: Disastrous outing as bulk reliever
Varland (0-6) took the loss Wednesday, surrendering eight runs on five hits and a walk over 2.1 relief innings as the Twins were downed 9-4 by the Rays. He struck out one.
After Ronny Henriquez worked a scoreless inning as Minnesota's opener, Varland got the call and sailed through two perfect frames of his own before the wheels came off in the fourth. Some questionable defense contributed to the disaster, including the right-hander's own throwing error on a pickoff attempt, and a two-run homer by Yandy Diaz finally ended Varland's night. The Twins don't get a day off until Sept. 12, so they may continue rolling with a six-man rotation, but there's no guarantee Varland will be the sixth man after this performance left him with a 7.62 ERA and 1.69 WHIP for the season. If he does get another turn, either as a starter or bulk reliever, he lines up to take the mound at home early next week against the Angels.
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Valente Bellozo RP | COL
Marlins' Valente Bellozo: Blanks Nats in no-decision
Bellozo came away with a no-decision in Wednesday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the Nationals, allowing three hits and two walks over six scoreless innings. He struck out one.
The rookie right-hander was far from dominant, producing only seven swinging strikes among his 85 pitches, but Bellozo minimized any hard contact and left the mound with the Marlins clinging to a 1-0 lead. The quality start was his second in nine big-league outings, and it was a strong bounce-back effort after he's been tagged for 12 runs (11 earned) over his last 8.2 innings. Bellozo will carry a 3.78 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 33:17 K:BB through 47.2 frames into his next start, which is scheduled to come on the road early next week in Pittsburgh.
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MacKenzie Gore SP | TEX
Nationals' MacKenzie Gore: Sharp in no-decision
Gore came away with a no-decision in Wednesday's 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Marlins, allowing one run on one hit and one walk over six innings. He struck out nine.
The southpaw retired the first 16 batters he faced, but a walk followed by a Nick Fortes RBI double ended any shot at history Gore might have had. The quality start was his eighth of the season, tying the career high he set in 2023, and he seems to have turned things around after a rough patch coming out of the All-Star break -- over his last three outings, all quality starts, Gore has a 2.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 19:2 K:BB in 18 innings. He'll look to keep rolling in his next trip to the mound, which lines up to come at home early next week against Atlanta.
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Keider Montero SP | DET
Tigers' Keider Montero: Can't get through five frames
Montero did not factor into the decision in an extra-inning loss to the Padres on Wednesday, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out two.
Montero held the Padres scoreless through the first three innings before failing to retire three of the first four batters in the fourth -- the latter of which would take the right-hander deep for a three-run shot. Montero then went on to surrender another two runs in the fifth as San Diego tied the game at 5-5, and he would not make it through the frame, marking his shortest outing since June 26 against Philadelphia (span of 11 starts). The five runs allowed on the night matched a season high for the 24-year-old and he's now given up multiple runs in each of his last three starts. Montero has also issued multiple free passes in five-consecutive outings.
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Yu Darvish SP | SD
Padres' Yu Darvish: Struggles in return to rotation
Darvish did not factor into the decision in an extra-inning win over the Tigers on Wednesday, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over 2.2 innings while striking out four.
Darvish had a hard time getting through Detroit's lineup right from the jump, giving up a solo homer to Matt Vierling with two outs in the first before needing 47 pitches to get through the first two frames. He would be relieved by Yuki Matsui with two outs in the third, marking his shortest outing of the campaign -- though that was somewhat expected in Darvish's first start since returning from the injured list due to elbow inflammation. The veteran right-hander will look for better results in his next start, which is currently projected for next week in Seattle.
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JP Sears SP | SD
Athletics' JP Sears: Allows five runs in loss
Sears (11-10) took the loss against the Mariners on Wednesday, allowing five runs on five hits and one walk over five innings while striking out five.
Sears went 1-2-3 through the first inning before hitting Randy Arozarena with a pitch to open the second. The lefty would eventually go on to surrender two runs in the frame following a double from Mitch Garver, and was tagged for another three runs in the fourth after allowing four-consecutive hits with two outs. Despite his struggles, Sears was still able to get through six innings for the seventh time in his last eight starts, though he's now given up five earned runs in two of his last three outings. Sears also carries a strong 30:8 K:BB since the start of August and will look to get back in the winning column when the A's travel to Houston to take on the Astros next week.
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George Kirby SP | SEA
Mariners' George Kirby: Fans nine in win
Kirby (11-10) picked up the win over Oakland on Wednesday, allowing two runs on six hits over six innings while striking out nine.
Kirby surrendered one run in the opening frame after giving up back-to-back hits to start the inning. However, he would then go on to strike out eight of the next 11 batters he faced in the contest en route to posting just his second quality start since July 26 against the White Sox. The right-hander also recorded his second-highest strikeout total of the season Wednesday while securing his third win in his last four decisions. On the downside, Kirby has now allowed multiple runs in seven consecutive starts.
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Colin Rea SP | CHC
Brewers' Colin Rea: Tosses another four-inning outing
Rea allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four batters over four innings in a no-decision against St. Louis on Wednesday.
Rea fell behind early, giving up a pair of runs -- each on bases-loaded walks -- in the first inning. The right-hander calmed down considerably from there, as he didn't allow any additional free passes or runs over his remaining three frames. However, it was another short start for Rea, who also lasted just four innings in his previous appearance, which came against Cincinnati on Aug. 30. Prior to the pair of truncated outings, Rea had gone at least six frames in four consecutive starts.
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Sonny Gray SP | BOS
Cardinals' Sonny Gray: Excellent in no-decision
Gray allowed one run on four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over seven innings in a no-decision against Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Gray didn't allow a run until the seventh inning, and he departed the contest holding a 2-1 lead. However, St. Louis' bullpen coughed up the tying run in the eighth, preventing Gray from notching a second straight victory. Despite that disappointment, it was a strong outing by the veteran right-hander, as he completed seven frames for the first time since Aug. 6. Gray has surrendered just two runs over his past 13 innings spanning two starts to bring his season ERA down to 3.84.